JULY 2012

Connect Kathasenda centre to the power grid in Uganda

Who: More than 280 registered children and staff

Where: UG-145, Kathasenda Child Development Centre, western Uganda

What: Help Kathasenda centre in western Uganda to connect to the local electricity grid.

Your support will allow the centre to access a cheap, reliable, permanent source of electricity. With your help, more than 280 registered children and the centre staff will no longer have to rely on a petrol-fuelled power generator for their everyday electricity needs.

Cost: A$22,900

In the village of Kathesenda, western Uganda, electricity is a rare commodity. For years, the Kathasenda Child Development Centre has relied on a petrol-fuelled power generator for electricity—but this arrangement has its drawbacks. The closest petrol vendor is 6km from the centre, and when petrol is not available there, the next point of sale is in Kasese Town, 56km away. The centre staff use the generator sparingly to save on fuel and maintenance costs, but this means that most of the time, the centre has no electricity at all.

The sporadic electricity supply has made it very difficult for the centre staff to schedule classes and activities, to communicate with the Compassion Uganda office, to access basic services and to teach the children skills that require an electricity supply. For example, the centre has received a number of computers but cannot teach computer classes without a reliable energy supply.

With your support, the centre staff plan to connect the child development centre to the Munkunyu Sub County’s power grid—building 6km of power lines that will grant them a reliable, cheap, constant source of power.

Your support will directly benefit more than 280 children registered with the Kathasenda centre, as well as the centre staff and the wider community.

With a reliable power supply, staff are excited at the new opportunities they will have to expand the program’s activities, with the possibility of beginning night classes for parents and community groups, extending study hours for older students, facilitating computer training classes for students, and helping with the day to day maintenance of the centre. Your support will also allow new channels of communication for the centre and its staff as they liaise with the Compassion Uganda national office.

Thank you for giving so generously to the children and staff of the Kathasenda centre.

A few important notes: Be sure to check the website regularly in the months after as well for an update on how the project has made an impact. If more than the target amount is received, it will be used for similar projects through the Critical Interventions Fund. (Check out what it does here).